A Message From Our PresidentThere are so many great opportunities this spring in locations across the state -- including Dr. Jim Webb, a giant in our field, travelling to speak to audiences from Vancouver BC to Tacoma to Olympia. The hottest ticket is SENG coming to do a one-day conference right here in Seattle. SENG stands for Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted. It's a national association, and the last time it was in Seattle was 7 years ago! This conference just started registration, and space is limited. It will sell out - don't wait to get your ticket!SENG will also be offering SENG Model Parent Group (SMPG) Facilitator Training alongside the conference. If you've been wanting to get trained, this is your golden opportunity, and it won't be back in our area for several years at least.Also, check out the legislative update below from the Coalition for Gifted Education. We didn't get everything we asked for, but we did get some really important provisions for gifted students added to WA state law this legislative session - which is notable because even our sponsors said the likelihood of getting anything through in this short session was very slim. We were surprised to find more supporters for equity in HiCap identification in the legislature than we expected, so that sets us up for hopefully making another forward step next year. Details below...Hope to see you at one of these great events this spring!Austina De Bonte, President NWGCAUpcoming Learning Opportunities

The Gifted Children's Association and the Lower Mainland Gifted Contacts group of school district professionals in BC, Canada is pleased to provide this opportunity for you to connect with other parents and participate in a wide variety of presentations from local experts headlined by Dr. James Webb. The program includes two keynote lectures with Dr. Webb, two breakout sessions with 12 more interesting speakers on different topics and a plenary session with a debate of gifted education in BC.

Seabury School's 8th Annual Gifted Education Seminar "We must cultivate courage and caring along with ... creativity, intelligence, and motivation ... otherwise we run the risk of having bright minds who lose their idealism or lack the courage to ... truly make a difference." That's the wisdom of Dr. James Webb, nationally renowned psychologist on gifted education, who makes a return visit to the Seabury Speaker Series. You've heard the fake news. Gifted kids need no special help; they already have so much going for them. Turns out their social-emotional needs are especially neglected. In his talk, Dr. Webb spells out how simply being bright is not enough. He offers concrete ideas for parents and teachers to help them re-think perspectives and behaviors and encourages programs focusing on social and emotional needs of these youngsters.April 10, 2018 ● 7 p.m. University of Washington, Tacoma (BHS 106) FREE - Register here

Jim Webb: Managing Stress, Perfectionism and Depression (April 11, Olympia)Dr. Jim Webb will discuss Managing Stress, Perfectionism, and Depression at the next Community Education Series presentation at NOVA Middle School. Stress, perfectionism, and depression are frequent in bright, highly capable/gifted children and are related to their intensity, sensitivity, and idealism. Although bright children need challenges, undue stress, perfectionism, and depression seldom come from the challenges of specific situations or tasks. Instead they are more likely to come from what these children say to themselves about the events and about themselves. This workshop focuses on such concepts as self-talk, irrational beliefs, and self-management of stress. Specific techniques are described to help prevent and overcome perfectionism and depression, along with ways to build habits of resiliency. This presentation is FREE and open to the public. RSVP (not required but helpful): events@novaschool.orgApril 11, 2018 @ 7 PMNOVA Middle School2020 22nd Avenue SE, Olympia, WA 90501

The Bright and Quirky Child Online Summit (April 25-30, Online)Are you raising a bright and quirky child? Looking for support in helping your gifted child thrive, even with focus, learning, social, emotional or behavioral challenges?

Wanting to find a community of experts who 'get' a twice exceptional child who is both bright and struggling?

Reading and Writing with Assistive Technology (April 26, Seattle)Parents are invited to learn about assistive technology that can help students complete homework, build confidence, scaffold their writing process, and bring joy to reading. Presented by John Goddard, Library Media Specialist April 26, 2018 at 6:30pm Hamlin-Robinson School (1701 20th Avenue South, Seattle)Suggested $10 donation at the door. More information

Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) Conference (June 22-23, Auburn)WHO is excited to be going back to our roots with a conference featuring informative and inspiring speakers, homeschool veterans ready to answer your questions, and a hall of carefully-selected, education-related vendors. Whether you are a brand-new homeschooler, or a seasoned veteran, you will come away equipped and energized for your homeschool journey! Visit the NWGCA table in the Exhibit Hall. Green River College (12401 SE 320th Street, Auburn)

The Conference will be organized over three days beginning with Continuing Education Programs, SMPG Training, an exhibitor's hall, sponsorship, advertising opportunities, and an evening reception. SENG has a block of hotel rooms for a special rate - reserve your room byJune 27!More Information and RegistrationSENG Parent Discussion GroupsSENG Model Parent Groups (SMPGs) bring individuals and families together to discuss the challenges associated with raising a gifted child. The facilitators of these groups, though knowledgeable about parenting and gifted education, do not attempt to give advice. Instead their facilitation provides a non-judgmental and nurturing atmosphere for individuals and families to exchange ideas. Hosted by certified facilitators, discussion topics include issues like motivation, discipline, stress management, peer relationships and more. The groups meet weekly for approximately 8-10 weeks.

For more information or to get connected with a group, follow the links below:

- Woodinville SMPGLooking for a SENG Model Parent Group in Your Area?Are you interested in joining an SMPG? Do you live in Washington State? If so, please complete this five-question survey to help us determine the best locations and times for possible upcoming groups.Answer the Survey

Career Opportunities

Highly Capable Classroom Teacher, Mount Vernon SDA full time position is available at LaVenture Middle School starting in September 2018. To inquire, please read the Job Descriptionand then contact abautista@mvsd320.org

Elementary and Middle School HiCap Classroom Teachers, Northshore SDNorthshore school district is undergoing significant expansion of its Highly Capable program, and will need multiple teachers at the elementary and middle school levels next fall. For more information, please contact hicap@nsd.org

Washington Coalition for Gifted Education UpdateThe legislative session is over and We Did It.The Coalition and its partners NWGCA, WAETAG, and NAGC, with support from the state PTA, gambled big this session, finding sponsors to introduce bills to expand the search for highly capable students by using acknowledged best practices.

You will recall that in 2017 the legislature mandated that the identification of low-income students for the highly capable program be prioritized. When OSPI did not provide what we felt was sufficient direction and guidance in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), we felt we had no choice but to seek legislative direction for them to do so.

This authority and direction is now provided in section 105 of E2SSB 6362. Although we did not get universal screening, a ban on Saturday testing, and professional development, OSPI did receive sufficient authority to put most of what we asked for into the WAC or other forms of guidance and direction. Here is the wording which appeared in the final bill as section 105."NEW SECTION. Sec. 105. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction must require school districts to have identification procedures for their highly capable programs that are clearly stated and implemented by school districts using the following criteria:

(a) Districts must use multiple objective criteria to identify students who are among the most highly capable. Multiple pathways for qualifications must be available and no single criterion may disqualify a student from identification;

(b) Highly capable selection decisions must be based on consideration of criteria benchmarked on local norms, but local norms may not be used as a more restrictive criteria than national norms at the same percentile;

(c) Subjective measures such as teacher recommendations or report card grades may not be used to screen out a student from assessment. These data points may be used alongside other criteria during selection to support identification, but may not be used to disqualify a student from being identified; and

(d) To the extent practicable, screening and assessments must be given in the native language of the student. If native language screening and assessments are not available, a nonverbal screening and assessment must be used.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction must disseminate guidance on referral, screening, assessment, selection, and placement best practices for highly capable programs. The guidance must be regularly updated and aligned with evidence-based practices."

Our next steps depend on the upcoming rewrite of the WAC to incorporate the instructions in section 105. We will continue to advocate for best practices, including universal screening, a ban on Saturday testing and increased professional development. If we are not successful, we will seek additional legislative authority in the next session.

Thank you for your support this session. We saw an unprecedented outpouring of contacts with legislators when we requested it. Your actions set the stage for section 105 to be included in E2SSB 6362.Opportunities for Your Student

Monthly Math Hour at the University of Washington (Seattle)Each spring, Seattle-area middle- and junior high-school students are invited to participate in the Monthly Math Hour on the University of Washington's campus. The Monthly Math Hour at the UW is a series of talks that will take place from 1-2 PM on Sunday afternoons to introduce students to the beautiful and exciting world of mathematics. The lectures are given completely free of charge. The talks will be held in Savery Hall, room 260. Well-behaved parents and teachers are also welcome to attend with the permission of their children. Siblings are free to join in, too. There will be time for questions and further discussion after the talks.More Information

Saturday Enrichment Classes at University of Washington (Seattle)The Saturday Program is an enrichment program offered by the Robinson Center for Young Scholars for students currently in grades K-8. These classes are intended to provide intellectually ambitious students with challenge, inspiration, and fun, in a collaborative, supportive learning environment. Our classes are not intended to move students ahead in the standard curriculum but rather to explore topics not usually covered in the K-8 classroom. Classes meet for one or two hours per week on Saturdays, for eight sessions each quarter; we do not run Saturday Program in the summer. Classes are held on the UW Campus, in Gould Hall. Students may only register for classes offered to their corresponding grade level and may select as many classes as preferred as long as the class times don't overlap. There will be no homework, though optional activities may provided for outside of class.Spring classes begin on April 7! More Information

UW Robinson Center: Online English Composition (Online)For students in 10-12th grade, our RC Online is now open for registration! In this ten week online English Composition course, students will be challenged to adapt their writing to the demands of college-level, scholarly inquiry. They will learn how to address their writing to advanced academic conversations, and design their work so as to participate in formal, disciplinary lines of inquiry. There will be substantial weekly reading and writing assignments, and an official grade and transcript at the completion of the course. Our courses provide students with both an advanced, in-depth learning experience and the high-level skills so vital to success in college.June 25 - August 31

Summer at the UW Robinson Center (Seattle)The Robinson Center's Summer Program provides an intensive, inspirational and in-depth learning experience for students who are ready and prepared to take on the challenge. We offer a rich variety of math, science, literature, philosophy, and writing classes. Class size is small, with a faculty who are experienced teachers and specialists in their fields.

Summer Challenge, for current 5th-6th graders, emphasizes hands-on learning, field trips and activities It is an academically advanced summer camp with the goal of providing motivated students a fun and intensive educational experience in areas outside of the traditional school curriculum for three weeks in July.

Summer Stretch, for current 7th-10th graders, is more academic in nature, providing a rigorous learning experience. Characterized by high-level thinking, intellectual adventure, and pursuit of understanding, this program offers both accelerated courses (e.g. Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Precalculus, Chemistry) and courses for enrichment (e.g. American Literature, Debate, Physics of Robotics). All of these courses provide an in-depth, intensive learning experience.

Camp Summit (San Francisco, CA)Camp Summit for the gifted, talented, creative is a week long overnight summer camp designed specifically for gifted students ages 9 through 14. This camp prides itself in the vast variety of activities that our campers can participate in on a daily basis specifically designed to pique the interests of gifted, talented, and creative students. Activities can be found in three general categories: daily destinations, free time activities, and designated evening activities. All activities are monitored by staff to ensure the safety of each and every camper on a continual basis. Similar sessions for campers are offered at both Camp Summit West and Camp Summit East although there are some differences. Camp Summit is an all inclusive and affirming camp. More Information

AwesomeMath Summer Program (Tacoma)This is a three-week intensive summer camp for mathematically gifted students from around the globe. It is designed for bright middle and high school students who wish to hone their problem solving skills in particular and further their mathematics education in general. Many of AwesomeMath participants seek to improve their performance on contests such as AMC10/12, AIME, or USAMO. AwesomeMath is the perfect summer camp for those young mathematicians who are thrilled about problem solving and challenging competitions. More Information

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ArticlesPathologizing Normal Gifted BehaviorWhat is it and why is it a problem? I learned about this concept when my son was young and teachers kept telling me he had ADHD. The first time anyone told me he probably had ADHD was when he was about six years old and in first grade. He was a self-taught reader and by the time he was in first grade he was already a fluent reader. Read the Complete Article Here

De-Escalating: Helping Gifted Children Identify Their Emotions and Regain Control It's the week before winter break. Utter chaos reigns. Every day there is a condensed schedule, an assembly, or other interruptions that distress my anxious, perfectionist, or autistic gifted kids. In the 3.5 minutes before students come pouring into my classroom adorned in ugly sweaters and crazy hats, I receive an email that says Matthew is crying on the floor uncontrollably because he didn't make math competition. Help. Read the Complete Article HereCroll: Beyond the Bell Curve, The Challenges of Raising Twice-Exceptional ChildrenDid you know a child could be both gifted and autistic? A percentage of children, some estimates are as high as 5-10 percent, have more than one exceptionality such as being intellectually advanced (gifted) plus having a physical, neurological, emotional, processing or developmental challenge. These "twice exceptional," or 2e, children may score very high on intelligence tests while also having ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, sensory processing disorders, autism or another learning disability.Read the Complete Article HereTop 22 Stephen Hawking Quotes and Lessons That Will Inspire You To Think Bigger and Never Get Discouraged in LifeWorld renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. He died peacefully at his Cambridge home. He overcame debilitating illness to produce some of the most groundbreaking scientific theories in the last few centuries. Read the Complete Article Here